Renault Megane RS 265 Sport: facelift debuts, RM200k

TC Euro Cars has officially introduced the facelifted Renault Megane RS 265 Sport in Malaysia. The facelift first appeared last month in a RS 265 Cup version, showcased at the launch of the Malaysia Super GT race series. As the suffix suggests, this is the Sport variant, not the one that sits on the Cup chassis – word is that the RS 265 Cup version will arrive at a later point.

The front gets a more prominent Renault diamond logo placed on a gloss black background, set on to a new grille. The bumper is new too, as are the projector headlights, which feature gloss black “eyelids.” Also on, a F1 blade fitted on the bumper, in a nod to the company’s F1 heritage and success. Only a single exterior colour is listed for the Sport variant – Glacier White.

The Megane RS 265 Sport comes dressed with a Red Pack, which provides accents in the said shade. Outside, the front lip, side mouldings and rear spoiler go the route, while inside, certain trim bits go the red route, as do the seat belts and stitching.

No mechanical changes – the new car has the same running gear as seen in the pre-facelift, in this case a 2.0 litre four-cylinder turbo offering 265 hp and 360 Nm, paired with a six-speed manual. Performance figures include a 0-100 km/h time of 6.0 seconds and a 250 km/h top speed.

In case you were wondering the difference between the Sport and Cup versions of the Megane RS, the Sport loses the sportier seats of the Cup, the limited slip differential and has a softer suspension setup.

It’s also a cheaper proposition than its Cup sibling – the Megane RS 265 Sport is priced at RM199,999, on-the-road without insurance, making it nearly RM36k cheaper than the pre-FL RS 265 Cup that was launched here in January last year.

Anthony Lim believes that nothing is better than a good smoke and a car with character, with good handling aspects being top of the prize heap. Having spent more than a decade and a half with an English tabloid daily never being able to grasp the meaning of brevity or being succinct, he wags his tail furiously at the idea of waffling - in greater detail - about cars and all their intrinsic peculiarities here.

I prefer only manual and no option for auto. Why? If got auto most probably they only bring the auto only to Malaysia. For example car like Golf Gti, Golf R, Citroen DS3, most of BMW and even Subaru WRX and BRZ and many more got no manual for malaysia market.

There’s a Renault Nissan SC in Plentong, next to Giant. The Renault staff there is very friendly. Not sure how experienced they are with the Megane RS, but AFAIK they do also work on Singaporean Renaults.

They should make the DCT version like the clio. Confirm can sell well. Manual tranny nowadays not practical la with all the jams sana sini. but still, performance wise and driving feel manual is better. So they have to make 2 options laa.

only a fool or a non-car enthusiast would prefer the current Clio RS over the absolutely fantastic previous model. Any man who complains about driving a manual as a daily (even with jams, congestion etc.) should frigging grow a pair and suck it up.

orang tua sakit lutut. all those ferrari, lambo, porsche all now using auto tranny. some of them only have manual tranny. Aiyooo. Not everybody like you. Thats why Golf GTi is more popular in malaysia. Auto. with all these new tech such as the DCT, DSG and others, automatic transmission is getting better. even those recond cars in the market such as the impreza ver10 and Evo 10 are mostly the ones with auto trans.

For cars that are used in races, and where every ms counts, yes, dual clutch or sequential gearboxes are better, cause faster. But in terms of having fun? There’s no way you can beat a manual gearbox. It’s like pleasing your wife yourself, or using some machine to do it. The machine may be faster, but more fun?

It is a good pricing strategy in my opinion. Better performance but at a mere 200k which is always better than the out-dated Golf GTI or the entry level A200. The only disadvantage is it comes in 2-door.

Definitely a good buy since the cup chassis & LSD is only beneficial on the track most the time. I’d definitely get this over a golf or even an A class. But if it’s my primary car then I’d get the more practical Golf.

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